Serious-minded sport fishermen frequently exercise their skills from deck-mounted pedestal swivel seats on their fishing boats. In the ideal situation, such fishermen can easily reach or manipulate a number of items and implements while seated on such pedestal seats. Various items relating to their fishing activity are placed within their easy reach, such as the foot pedal controls for their electric trolling motors, fish locating gauges, and the like. This helps fishermen to concentrate on their fishing.
However, in many cases the items which fishermen handle most frequently are not easily accessible. More specifically, the small paraphernalia stored in tackle boxes, such as hooks, lures, leaders and the like, may not be easily reached because the fisherman has to reach down to the deck or across the deck to his tackle box to get them. And, if a tackle box is placed on the deck beneath the pedestal seat, it may be in the way of the fisherman's feet, particularly when he rotates his pedestal seat to a new position, as is frequently done.
The prior art includes many devices for accessible storage of fishing tackle, including a number of storage devices which are part of or are associated in some way with a chair or seat for fishing or the like. Included in the prior art are the disclosures of the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,692,007, 2,718,088, 4,067,607, 4,103,965, 4,184,281, 4,191,420, 4,379,587, 4,428,617.
Some devices of the prior art have provision for storage compartments at some position underneath stools or chairs of various kinds. However, there is a need for a tackle container assembly which accommodates the needs of fishermen using pedestal swivel seats without interfering with one of the functional advantages of such seats--the freedom to place one's feet at any position underneath the seat which is comfortable and which gives the proper balance and support during fishing casting, reeling and other fishing actions.
Some other devices of the prior art have tackle-containing structures besides a seat, for example, attached to the arms of a seat. This provides a high level of accessibility, but at the same time may interfere significantly with the fisherman's freedom of movement and action.
So in most cases fishermen who fish from pedestal chairs place their tackle boxes on the boat deck, where it is often in the way of their feet or in the way of other equipment and/or where it may be rather difficult to reach. When sitting on the boat deck, tackle boxes are typically in the hot sun and may become very hot inside. This can be harmful to certain plastic pieces, such as artificial baits and other items, even causing them to melt. But to place the tackle box out of the sun may require that it be at a location even more remote from the pedestal seat.
It suffices to note that despite the many developments in this field and despite the popularity of fisherman's pedestal swivel seats, there is a need for an improved accessible tackle container assembly which is useful to fishermen who fish from pedestal seats. More specifically, there is a need for a tackle container assembly which does not interfere with the fisherman's activities around the pedestal seat and does not limit his freedom of foot movement, including freedom to place his feet on the deck at any position around and under the pedestal seat as he swivels to different positions during his various fishing activities.